Article: Conservation Theme behind Sun and Moon's Pokémon

What, no Stegosaurus, Raptor, nor Orthnomimus to complete the stock dinosaurs set?

I didn't really want to include possible fossils. I know Sabre tooth and mammoth could be considered a fossil, but we kinda already have a mammoth, even though it is actually a pig.

Plus we already have a possible fossil or two shown in ORAS and there is another thread for fossils types saying what I would like to see. Which is the main reason I do not have dinosaurs listed in this list.
 
Guys, consider this for the starters.

Cats are afraid of water, birds are eaten by cats, and fish are eaten by birds

Except Popplio isn't a fish, it's a sea lion, and it doesn't go anywhere on the Bird < Cat < Dog cycle.
 
And there might be a pun there too, seeing how young Sealions are called Pups/puppies which is also what young dogs are called.

Popplio's name almost sounds like "Pupplio" so I can see where Game Freak (and the English localization) were going with it, because it's a young sea lion.
 
Popplio's name almost sounds like "Pupplio" so I can see where Game Freak (and the English localization) were going with it, because it's a young sea lion.

Yup, it's a pun on the sound of bubbles, Pup, and lion as in sea lion. Perhaps Popplio could actually also be a Dog. Squirtle was a Turtle and a Squirrel. Hmm, another call back to Gen I if so.
 
Having a mongoose and woodpecker further confirms that a lot of pokemon will be based on endangered or extinct pokemon.

I am not sure about the new bug pokemon. I can't find anything atm, but I do remember seeing something about a type of grub I think.
 
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Having a mongoose and woodpecker further confirms that a lot of pokemon will be based on endangered or extinct pokemon.

I am not sure about the new bug pokemon. I can't find anything atm, but I do remember seeing something about a type of grub I think.

I heard that mongooses were an introduced species to Hawaii, when I was discussing on Discord. Pikipek's design seems to be a woodpecker with elements of a Red Crested Cardinal.
 
I heard that mongooses were an introduced species to Hawaii, when I was discussing on Discord. Pikipek's design seems to be a woodpecker with elements of a Red Crested Cardinal.

I am almost certain it is based on the critically endangered imperial woodpecker. They look almost exactly the same in some colors.

Mongoose are also an endagered species.
 
Having a mongoose and woodpecker further confirms that a lot of pokemon will be based on endangered or extinct pokemon.

I am not sure about the new bug pokemon. I can't find anything atm, but I do remember seeing something about a type of grub I think.

Mongoose is a broad category. I haven't read anything about the whole group being endangered. In some countries it's an invasive species, and if what Hikamaru said is accurate then it's an invasive species in Hawaii.
Maybe the Grub evolves into a rare Hawaiian beatle or something or rare insect.
 
I am almost certain it is based on the critically endangered imperial woodpecker. They look almost exactly the same in some colors.

Mongoose are also an endagered species.

Mongoose is an endangered animal? I never heard about that until now, but it definitely fits in with all the other endangered influence with the Pokemon designs so the connection makes sense now.

And Pikipek is the Imperial Woodpecker? Critically endangered like the Iriomote cat that Litten is based on. Maybe Pikipek could be the rare common encounter for Route 1 if that suggests it, like how Yungoos could be the very common one for the route.

Anyways, with the fact we now have more confirmed connection to endangered animals I am definitely certain for a hunter-themed villainous team now.
 
Mongoose is an endangered animal? I never heard about that until now, but it definitely fits in with all the other endangered influence with the Pokemon designs so the connection makes sense now.

And Pikipek is the Imperial Woodpecker? Critically endangered like the Iriomote cat that Litten is based on. Maybe Pikipek could be the rare common encounter for Route 1 if that suggests it, like how Yungoos could be the very common one for the route.

Anyways, with the fact we now have more confirmed connection to endangered animals I am definitely certain for a hunter-themed villainous team now.

There's a lot of species of Mongooses though. Mongoose is a broad catergory like Cat, and Dog. I haven't heard about Mongoose as a group being endangered either.
 
There's a lot of species of Mongooses though. Mongoose is a broad catergory like Cat, and Dog. I haven't heard about Mongoose as a group being endangered either.

Here is what National Geographic says:

In the 1800s mongooses were introduced to several islands in Hawaii and the West Indies in order to control the rodent populations on sugarcane plantations. Today this effort has come back to haunt these islands as mongooses threaten the survival of various native species, particularly birds. However, in their natural environments mongooses are currently threatened themselves due to habitat loss.

And that sounds like it is talking about the entire species. They may be good in some area, but they are still threatened in natural environments.
 
Also, the bird was confirmed to be a woodpecker in the live stream I think. It can peck up 16 times in a second or something like that.

Also, It could also be based on the Ivory Billed Woodpecker which looks almost exactly the same as the Imperial. It is also worth mentioning that the male and female do not look the same.

Both of these woodpecker species are critically endangered/near extinct and at one time were thought to be extinct.

Imperial Woodpecker:
Spoiler:


Ivory-Billed Woodpecker:
Spoiler:
 
So if we look at the Imperial Woodpecker, does this suggest that Pikipek's evolutions could have a gender difference? I know male Unfezant had green on its underbelly and the female's one was brown, and after that I wouldn't mind another bird with a gender difference.

Definitely envisioning male Pikipek evo to keep the red crest while the female has a black crest, like the pic.
 
I really like this conservation theory, it's interesting to have a common theme with the new Pokemon and could make for a powerful plot. Perhaps the islands have been turned into a sanctuary for endangered Pokemon? The man made island could tie in with this too. I think someone already suggested that maybe they're trying to create new artificial Pokemon to increase the Pokemon population. It wouldn't surprise me if the villainous team were conducting dubious experiments on this island!
 
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